Whats your opinion on the florida shooting?

[BOUNTY HUNTER]

:no: Hello everyone I was watching the national news when i came across a story about a young black male being shot and killed in a florida community, The news source stated that the young black male named Trayvon Martin was walking in this neighborhood to buy candy and soda when a citizen noticed him walking on his street and stated that he looked like he was up to no good, and he called the local police. The local dispatch advised him to not follow the young man but he did anyway well to make a long story short reports stated the to citizen followed the young man and then a short time later there was screaming heard by numerous residents and then one gun shot which was also heard by the 911 dispatcher residents stated that there was a short struggle between the gunman and the so called strange looking balck man, My question is would the shooting have happened if the so called black perp was white, and if so do you think the shooting was justified could there have been a different outcome. I have read numerous news reports about how black young men and being killed by persons that have ccw's, now to be fair i also know the some of the black men were criminals and they were armed and very violent in some cases i understand the actions of those that fear for their lives and the lives of others. I am not picking on any certain race i just notice that there are more incidents where young black men are being targeted for violence just because they are black to me that seems very stereotypical of society as a whole, there are other races that do the same type of crimes, or dress like gangbangers, I've seen white young men dressed like black and hispanic gangsters but the public dosent see them as gangsters like they do the black and hispanic youth, I have seen white young men that claim to be crips and bloods and members of hispanic gangs and they go out and commit violent crimes in the name of their gangs and the law looks at them as missguided youth, What makes the white kid not as dangerous and the black or hispanic kids killers and robbers I understand it may be socialeconomics but i cant help but think its all about race and skin color, I feel when society states that there is justice for all that it means (justice meaning just us) I am a fugative recovery agent and i see it all from the very bad to the wish i could help spectrum, So I would realy value your thoughts and opinions. It all comes down to the stand your groung doctrine and i believe in it all the way, meaning safety and self protection for all....


Thanks For Your Comments: BOUNTY HUNTER:butcher:

 

[JohnLM]

I can't see how the guy can claim self defense!!! After being told by the dispatcher to "STAY IN YOUR CAR AND WAIT FOR THE POLICE". He gets out the car and goes after the kid. IMO the guy was in the wrong. Pure and simple!!!!!

 

[nogods]

From all I read it sounds like he was playing neighborhood sheriff, got into a fight with the kid, then decided his life was in danger and shot the kid.

Way too many people think they got a LEO badge with their permit.

Here is a test that should be given before a person is allowed to carry a firearm outside the home:

Circle all the legitimate reasons for carrying a firearm outside your home (the list is not exclusive):

1. Self protection.

2. So you can patrol the neighborhood looking for criminals.

3. To put holes in stop signs so the wind doesn't blow them over.

4. To prevent the federal government from imposing Obamacare on you.

(Any one circling anything other than "1" doesn't get to carry a gun outside the home.)

 

[NCIC105]

Sounds like Sheepdog syndrome to me.

I'd say he needs a real good attorney!

 

[Wyldekard]

He doesn't make the "what would a reasonable person do" burden the jury will be instructed to consider. I heard one of the neighbor 911 calls on the news tonight. You can hear the kid in the background. It has to be murder.

 

[Purple]

Self defense claims are pretty weak when you purposely put yourself into harms way. In this case not only did he do that, but having fear of someones potential is not justification for pulling a gun and then the trigger. This guy's totally swirling down the toilet and deserves some legal ramifications for his stupidity.

 

[Danmc]

I don't see a link to your story, but based on what you have said, the way that I understand it is the shooter was in the wrong and has committed murder. Last I knew it is not illegal for somebody to walk down the street, and the act of walking down the street did not put the shooter in danger. The shooter went after this kid with only one intention...to shoot him. This "cowboy" needs to be taken off the streets and locked up to keep him from murdering somebody else.

 

[SGB]

Y'all know the shooter is of Hispanic heritage and all this other Hyperbole is just race baiting. There is NO EVIDENCE that the shooting was anything but self defense.


BOUNTY HUNTER - Paragraphs, use them.

 

[X-Beast]

The guy screwed up pure and simple. Owning a gun doesn't give one the right to be the neighborhood enforcer. If you're gonna carry then you damn well better know how to discern between real and imagined threats.

 

[Johnny Blade]

Y'all know the shooter is of Hispanic heritage and all this other Hyperbole is just race baiting. There is NO EVIDENCE that the shooting was anything but self defense.


BOUNTY HUNTER - Paragraphs, use them.

Yours is the first post I've seen on the subject that has stated the facts as currently reported. There is an undeniable rush to make this a racial issue. I am taking note of which media sources are referring to Mr. Zimmerman as white as opposed to those calling him a Hispanic. Given the current racially charged political atmosphere its possible we will never get the straight dope on what happened.

 

[cmhbob]

A little bit more information:

Link Removed

I'd say Mr Zimmerman had some issues, and that a jury will find problems with him and the Sanford PD.

If I have a right to be where I am, I owe an explanation as to why I'm there to no one without a badge, and then only grudgingly. This was not self-defense. This was manslaughter at a minimum. Zimmerman had no right to stop Martin.

 

[SGB]

A little bit more information:

Link Removed

I'd say Mr Zimmerman had some issues, and that a jury will find problems with him and the Sanford PD.

If I have a right to be where I am, I owe an explanation as to why I'm there to no one without a badge, and then only grudgingly. This was not self-defense. This was manslaughter at a minimum. Zimmerman had no right to stop Martin.

Please show me the proof that occurred.

 

[nogods]

Y'all know the shooter is of Hispanic heritage and all this other Hyperbole is just race baiting. There is NO EVIDENCE that the shooting was anything but self defense.


BOUNTY HUNTER - Paragraphs, use them.

Actually, other than a mention of race in the OP, all the post have been about the poor choices made by the shooter in the situation rather than anything considering race.

We don't need to inject race issues to opine on whether or not he was an idiot for engaging in the events.

 

[S&W645]

Sounds like Sheepdog syndrome to me.

I'd say he needs a real good attorney!

I'd say he doesn't. Why would you want him to get off when it appears that he provoked the incident?

 

[nogods]

I'd say he doesn't. Why would you want him to get off when it appears that he provoked the incident?

Because the job of a criminal defense attorney includes:

1. To make sure the defendant isn't convicted of any crime unless the state carries its burden of proof within the bounds of the Constitution and statutory provisions.

2. To make sure that the defendant is not convicted of any greater crime that that which the state can prove beyond a reasonable doubt without violating the Constitution and statutory provisions


The performance of those duties protects all of us from being defendants at the whim of the state.

 

[XD40FAN]

Shooter was wrong plain and simple and to prove my point the judge and jury will rule against him! If I pursued everyone I have seen looking like they are up to no good over the years I would be looking at consecutive life sentences! Leave it alone unless necessary to act!

 

[kumbaugh]

Have any of you listen to the 911 tape? He should be in jail.

 

[the dark]

From everything I have read about it - and most of it containing some objective data such as transcripts of 911 tapes - this guy screwed this up royally and deserves conviction. We should all support that given his act's potential for a negative impact on, at the very least, stand your ground laws. He went looking for trouble, created the situation himself when advised to leave it be after calling 911, and was clearly not in imminent danger of loss of life from a smaller unarmed adolescent.

If race is an issue in this, he made it an issue and has handed a gem to those who want to use it for their purposes.

Of course I keep waiting for someone to suggest he was a plant by the DOJ in order to undermine the 2A. No, this idiot did this stupid thing all by himself, much to our detriment.

 

[walt629]

Y'all know the shooter is of Hispanic heritage and all this other Hyperbole is just race baiting. There is NO EVIDENCE that the shooting was anything but self defense.


BOUNTY HUNTER - Paragraphs, use them.

I didn't read the rest of the posts, but.... the issue of the Hispanic gentleman being part of the neighborhood watch has also not been discussed here. The neighborhood watch member was doing what he is supposed to do. Keep a watch on the goings on in the neighborhood. Beyond that, the shooting is still under investigation (as far as I know at this time) and although the dispatcher told the neighborhood watch member to not follow the "suspicious" character, Dispatchers as a whole are told to get the public disengaged from a situation as quickly as possible.

All this being said, I wonder how many of us would simply abdicate the responsibilities we have assumed as part of our community just because a distant voice in a cell phone tells us to back off and let the police handle it.

 

[SGB]

Have any of you listen to the 911 tape? He should be in jail.

Really? Please give us your take on what the charge under Florida law should be and the evidence you'd present to prove your case.

Treyvon Martin Neighborhood Watch Shooting: 911 Tapes Send Mom Crying From Room - ABC News

Sanford, Fla., Police Chief Billy Lee said Zimmerman asserts he shot Martin out of self-defense.
"Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don't have the grounds to arrest him," Lee said last Tuesday.

Martin had been staying at his father's girlfriend's house during the night of the NBA all-star game Feb. 26.

On his way back into the gated suburban Orlando community after stepping out, Martin, wearing a hood, was spotted by Zimmerman.
Zimmerman described Martin as suspicious because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and walking slowly in the rain, police later told residents at a town hall.

A dispatcher told him to wait for a police cruiser, and not leave his vehicle.

But about a minute later, Zimmerman left his car wearing a red sweatshirt and pursued Martin on foot between two rows of townhouses, about 70 yards from where the teen was going.

Zimmerman's pursuit of Martin did not of itself constitute a crime, Lee said.

Witnesses told ABC News a fistfight broke out and, at one point, Zimmerman, who outweighed Martin by more than 100 pounds, was on the ground and that Martin was on top.

Austin Brown, 13, was walking his dog during the time of the altercation and saw both men on the ground but separated.

Brown, along with several other residents, heard someone cry for help, just before hearing a gunshot. Police arrived 60 seconds later and the teen was quickly pronounced dead.

According to the police report, Zimmerman, who was armed with a handgun, was found bleeding from the nose and the back of the head, standing over Martin, who was unresponsive after being shot.

An officer at the scene overheard Zimmerman saying, "I was yelling for someone to help me but no one would help me," the report said.

Witnesses told ABC News they heard Zimmerman pronounce aloud to the breathless residents watching the violence unfold, "It was self-defense," and place the gun on the ground.